Franz I of Hulstria
Franz I (in English Francis I) (April 7th, 1600 - November 2nd, 1676) of the Rothingren Imperial Dynasty was Emperor of Hulstria from its creation in 1650 until his death in 1676. Prior to that he had been Field Marshal of the Hulstrian Army during the Great Hulstrian Rebellion. =Early Life= Franz was born in Kien, then the capital of the Luthori colony of Hulstria, to Leopold and Juliana Rothingren. Leopold was a Colonel in the Hulstrian Colonial Legion and Juliana the daughter of a Luthori noblemen. Franz's father was away for most of his childhood due to his military requirements. Leopold, who eventually gained the rank of Major General, was often required to leave his home in Hulstria to command raids on the Gishotoi in the outer colonies. As a child and young adult Franz was trained to be a military man. It was expected that his, like his father before him, would join the military and become a professional soldier. He was trained to ride, fire a rifle, load a cannon, and advanced military tactics. At the age of 16 Franz joined the Colonial Guard as a Major. He commanded raids, like his father, on the Gishotoi and by age 34 he had attained the rank of Brigadier General. =Family= While holding the position of Commanding officer of Fort Kien, the fortress that guarded the only entrance/exist to the Kiennese Valley, Franz met Elisabeth Hohenstadt the daughter of a local blacksmith. He was not immediately taken by her but after several several run-ins with her because of his business purchasing arms from her father he eventually began courting her. After a 3 year court, her asked for her hand in marriage and then proposed to her. Their wedding was a small military ceremony at Fort Kien. Nine months later their first child Rudolph was born, followed two and a half years later by twins Friedrich and Karolina. =The Hulstrian Revolutionary War= In 1639, the Luthori Colonies lead by Hulstria formally revolted. The colonies resented the increasing removal of colonial governments to Liore, which was on the other side of the world. The first five years of the Revolt are known as the Bloodless Period because they saw no response from the Holy Luthori Emperor or his military. During this time the first Hulstrian Diet met, Franz was appointed as Hulstria's delegate. The Diet met in Kien when the Declaration of Sovereignty was drafted and after nearly seven months accepted by the colonies. Franz, following the signing of the Declaration, was appointed Aide-de-Camp to Commander-in-Chief of the Hulstrian Army, Field Marshal Heindrich von Marchau. Marchau did almost nothing in his tenure as head of the Hulstrian Army, and in 1644 shortly before formal fighting broke out he was releaved of command. Franz was nominated and shortly thereafter appointed to replace him, jumping him from Brigadier General to Field Marshal. Luthori troops landed on Hulstrian soil in 1644, rapidly overunning most of the coastal regions including Marchau. Franz first met the Luthori Army in battle at Wuschenstadt a small city in the interior of Kuratha. Franz's army was out numbered 10 to 1 and was brutally crushed with Franz and a small legion of men barely escaping with their lives. Following this terrible defeat, the Hulstrian Diet called into question whether Franz was fit to command, and a vote of no confidence was called. However in the end while he had lost most of his army he had been able to kill the leader of the Luthori invasion force, Lord Godfrey, Duke of Himmelgred. Franz and the rest of the Hulstrian Army that had not been killed or captured began using hit and run tatics to destroy Luthori supply lines. The Luthori Army however forged ahead into the Hulstrian Interior. Luthori and Hulstrian forces met on a cold December 13th, 1646, in the largest and longest battle of the war, just outside of the Hulstrian capital city, Kien. Only again the Luthori outnumbered the Hulstrians, however this time it was only 3 to 2. Also Franz had an ace up his sleeve. He have rallied a calvary unit, who following the battle would forever be known as the Hulstrian Lancers. This elite group of men had all been trained at the Luthori Riding School in Kien, and while only comprised of 500 men, they are recorded to have accounted for nearly 3,000 of the Luthori dead, or one tenth of the entire Luthori force at that battle. Following the victory at the Kiennese Pass, Franz began pushing the Luthori out. In 1649, the Holy Luthori Emperor, began to worry that a drawn out war might cause other Luthori colonies like Kazulia to revolt and therefore granted Hulstrian independence. =First Kaiser of Hulstria= Following the Peace of Kien, The 2nd Hulstrian Diet met in Kien to discuss the establishment of a new government. Two camps quickly established themselves, those who wish for a republic with an elected head of state and those who wished to see a Hulstrian Monarchy established. In the end the Monarchists gained the needed support to push their government through and established the Hulstrian Empire. However the empire remained without a Monarch, the newly established Imperial Diet in Kien soon therefore offered the crown to Hulstria's greatest general Franz Rothingren. He accepted and was crowned Kaiser of Hulstria on August 3rd, 1650. Category:Nobility of Mikuni-Hulstria‎ Category:Hulstrian and Gao-Soton people